Method of burning brick



(No Model.)

J. F. BYERS. METHOD OF BURNING BRICK.

Pate nted Apr. 15, 1890.

All

UNITED STATES Fries.

PATENT METHOD OF BURNING BRICK.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 425,536, dated April 15, 1890. Application filed February 17, 1890. Eerial No. 340,663. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOHN F. BYERS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Minneapolis, in the county of Hennepin and State of Minnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in the Method of Burning Brick; and I do hereby declare that the following is afull, clear, and exact description of the invention, which will enable others skilled in the artto which it appertains to make use of the same.

Under the ordinary method of burning brick in kilns the major portion of the heat imparted to the brick in burning them is atterward lost for any useful purpose.

It is the object of my invention to utilize the heat contained in the newly-burned brick in a kiln to heat incoming air that is used to support combustion and produce heat for burning other brick in the same kiln.

My method, generally stated, consists in causing brick to be moved gradually through a continuous tunnel-shaped kiln, providing a regenerating -furnace or equivalent heater about midway of the length of the kiln, and causing fresh air'to enter the foot of the tunnel, pass through and among the burned brick, thence to the furnace to support combustion, and thence return to the tunnel to pass onward through and among the incoming brick to a flue at the head of the kiln.

I prefer to carry outmy process by means of an apparatus similar to that illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in Which- Figure 1 is a plan view of the kiln, portions being broken. away to show a section on the line a: a; of Fig. 2; and Fig. 2 is a trans section on the line :1 y of Fig. 1..

In said drawings, 1 designates a continuous passage way or tunnel formed by non-conducting walls 2. Such tunnel may be of any desired lengthpreferably about three hundred feet. The brick 3 are moved through the tunnel by means of cars 4. The cars may consist of platforms having sills 5, which are grooved longitudinally on the under sides. Tracks 6, extending through the tunnel, have corresponding grooves and in these grooves are balls 7, which furnish the bearings on which the cars move. The tracks being slightly inclined from the head to the foot of the tunnel, the cars entered at the upper end are enabled to travel the length of the tunnel by gravity. At or near the middle are valves 8 and 9, which close the tunnel at those points and prevent a direct draft through the tunnel. At the side of the tunnel, near its middle, is a regenerating-furnace 10. Air is introduced to the tunnel through the lower end, as indicated by the arrow .2, and is prevented by the valves 8 and 9 from passing directly onward to the other end. In the rear of the valve 9 is a duct 11, extending from the tunnel to the furnace, Where it may be divided into branches 12 and 13, the former supplying air to the under side of the grate 14 and the latter supplying air to complete combustion in the combustion-chamber 15. Suitable valves may be provided for controlling the flow of air through these duct-s. From the chamber 15 the heated products of combustion pass through conduits 16 and 17, respectively, into the tunnel in front of the valve 8. These conduits also may be provided with suitable valves for controlling the flow of heated products to the top and bottom portions of the tunnel.

The brick should be supported on fire-clay tiles 18 on the cars, and are preferably piled so as to form continuous passage-Ways 19, so that the heated products of combustion may pass through continuous openings among the brick onward toward the head of the tunnel. The head of the tunnel is closed by a door 20, and at a short distance inward is a valve 21 for closing the passage-way. In front of this valve are openings 22, leading to an exhaust-fan 23 or stack, and providing the means for the escape of the air from the tunnel.

In carrying out my process by means of such apparatus the brick are introduced on their cars at the head of the tunnel and advanced intermittingly by operating the valves 8 and 9 as car after car of brick is sufficiently burned. The hot brick passing into the tunnel beyond the valve 9 serve to heat the incoming air to a high temperature before it reaches the passage-way to the furnace, and the heat-ed products of combustion introduced to the tunnel from the furnace first burn the brick in the car next to the valve 8 and then pass onward toward the head, heating to a greater or less degree all of the incoming brick, so that by the time the exits 22 are reached the heat has been almost entirely utilized in warming the green brick.

By this method the maximum proportion of heat produced by the furnace is rendered effective for the purpose desiredthat of properly burning the brick.

The apparatus herein disclosed is the subject-matter of another application for patent I0 by me in which claim is made thereto.

' What I herein claim is The process of burning brick, consisting in (a) causing them to move through a tunnel, (1)) 

